It’s fit selection day — the one afternoon every summer that feels like Christmas for safety Justin Simmons. His mission: to finalize 17 pregame arrival outfits for 17 games.
Simmons and Tom Marchitelli, the designer and stylist he has trusted to handle the job for the last seven years, typically sit at a table at Simmons’ home in Denver, sifting through multiple binders of suit fabrics for two to three hours. With a copy of his team schedule nearby, they map out the season plan, picking out the wardrobe. Turtlenecks or overcoats for cold-weather games. Extra smoke for division rivalry games, prime-time matchups — and, for the first time in his career this year, a game against the Broncos, who released him in March, leading him to sign with the Falcons.
On game days, Simmons told me later, he feels most powerful and prestigious walking in with a custom-tailored suit. It has to be unique — he rarely wears the same thing twice — and fit perfectly to his body.
“1000% the way someone dresses speaks volumes on who they are,” Simmons told me on the phone in January, before echoing one of the most well-known truisms on the subject, delivered decades ago by Hall of Famer Deion Sanders: “Look good, feel good, play good. I truly believe that.”
This is the game before the game. All across the league, players are increasingly showing their passion for fashion in the form of pregame tunnel and postgame podium fits. As with their counterparts in the NBA, they are enticed by social media posts and cameras eyeballing game arrivals.
NFL players have also taken their style interests far beyond stadium corridors. After all, stars like the Texans’ Stefon Diggs, the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Odell Beckham Jr., the Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb, the Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase and Joe Burrow and the Jets’ Tyrod Taylor have appeared at Fashion Week in Paris. Designers will often partner with high-profile athletes to test the market with a unique style. Think of the buzz caused by the backless suit Burrow showed off last summer.
“The biggest name in the fashion game on the NFL side right now is Stefon Diggs. He has respect in Milan and Paris. He’s him out there,” Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Charles Omenihu told me. “My goal is to get that sort of respect. I’m serious about fashion. I’ve gone to Paris. I’ve done work with Feng Chen Wang. It’s more than just a passion.”
As for the fashion scene within the NFL, there are two more chances to impress coming up this week: first, when players walk the red carpet before NFL Honors, and then again when members of the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles arrive at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. And for at least one player, dressing for one of the biggest games of his career will be about more than looking good.
DeAndre Hopkins‘ Super Bowl fit has been ready for over 30 years — and now, ahead of his first Super Bowl appearance, the Chiefs receiver is ready to pull it out. Hopkins’ dad died in 1992 and left him a few prized possessions, including a mink coat.
“I always said I would wear the mink jacket to my wedding or the Super Bowl, whatever one happened first,” Hopkins said Monday at Super Bowl LIX Opening Night. “Obviously I’m not married. So I’m going to wear my daddy’s mink jacket.”
On Sunday, Hopkins and other stars like the Eagles’ DeVonta Smith and Saquon Barkley and the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will get to showcase their personalities through their fits. Before then, let’s dive into the ins and outs of how NFL players put their styles together.
